The Babylon Project was a development of the Earth Alliance that began in 2248, shortly after the resolution of the Earth-Minbari War. The project's goal was to prevent future wars by providing Humans and aliens neutral territory to settle their differences peacefully. The first four Babylon stations ended in disaster during construction or shortly after coming online. The fifth attempt, Babylon 5, came online in 2256. The cost of bringing Babylon 5 into service was enormous, but the station met and far exceeded its initial goal over the next twenty-four years.

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The Babylon Project began in 2248 after the resolution of the Earth-Minbari War, the war itself being the inspiration for the project's foundations. Babylons 1 through 3 were all destroyed during their construction by acts of sabotage. Finally, Babylon 4 was constructed and brought online in 2254 when it disappeared a mere twenty-four hours later. The last of the Babylon stations, Babylon 5, was constructed and placed into orbit of Epsilon III, thanks to substantial assistance from the Centauri Republic as well as the Minbari Federation, who suddenly became interested in the project for undisclosed reasons. The station came online in 2256 and ultimately served its purpose through frequent diplomatic engagements, first contact situations, ongoing trade, and key roles in several military conflicts. The new Interstellar Alliance was arguably the most enduring legacy of the Babylon Project. After Babylon 5 was decommissioned and scuttled in 2281, the Earth Alliance ended the project permanently, satisfied that it had fulfilled its purpose.

"There is something I've been wondering. Why Babylon 5? If the prior four stations were lost or destroyed, why build another?"

"Plain old human stubbornness, I guess. When something we value is destroyed, we rebuild it. If it's destroyed again, we rebuild it again. And again, and again, and…again, until it stays. That, as our poet Tennyson once said, is the goal: 'To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'"

The Babylon Station was the first space station built by the Earth Alliance under the aegis of the Babylon Project. [1] During construction, The Babylon Station’s infrastructure collapsed and exploded as a result of sabotage. Construction worker Thomas Jordan had just left the station. [2][3] Part of its materials were recycled to construct Babylon 2.

The second attempted station in the Babylon Project, Babylon 2 was also sabotaged and destroyed, exploding during construction.[3] Materials that survived the station's destruction were used in the construction of Babylon 3.

Like the previous two stations, Babylon 3 was also sabotaged and destroyed, exploding during construction.[3] As they had been on the previous station, leftover materials were used in the construction of Babylon 4.

The biggest of all of the Babylon stations, Babylon 4 was fully mobile and had dual rotating sections that rotated in the opposite direction relative to each other, allowing the station to conduct stable flight in space and not needing to reside in planetary orbit. Constructed in 2254, Babylon 4 disappeared twenty-four hours after it became operational.[3]

Babylon 5 was the final Babylon station constructed, with substantial assistance from the Centauri and Minbari governments. It was the smallest of the Babylon Stations, utilizing what parts and components were left over after the initial construction attempts.

Though only the first, fourth and fifth stations were ever seen, it appears as though all five were colour coded in spectrum order — red, green and blue for stations 1, 4 and 5 respectively — which would make the unseen Babylon 2 orange and Babylon 3 yellow.[4]

JMS has stated that the intended design of the first three Babylon stations was the same as that of B4, though none of them got anywhere near completion.[5] However, what little was seen of the (incomplete) Babylon Station in "In the Beginning" shows that it was a somewhat different design than either Babylons 4 or 5, but with a forward section closer in design to that of the latter.